Israel has only ever had two choices.

On Monday, I had a piece about the current round of Israeli-Palestinian violence in The Week:

Israel has only two choices: Eliminate the Palestinians or make peace

Israeli lawmaker Moshe Feiglin is right.

Last week, Feiglin, a member of the Knesset on the extreme-right flank of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud Party, laid out in the ultranationalist media network Arutz Sheva his plan for “achieving quiet in Gaza,” starting with:

One warning from the prime minister of Israel to the enemy population, in which he announces that Israel is about to attack military targets in their area and urges those who are not involved and do not wish to be harmed to leave immediately. Sinai is not far from Gaza and they can leave. This will be the limit of Israel’s humanitarian efforts. Hamas may unconditionally surrender and prevent the attack. [Arutz Sheva]

Feiglin continues from there: “All the military and infrastructural targets will be attacked with no consideration for ‘human shields’… Total siege on Gaza. Nothing will enter the area… Civilians may go to Sinai, fighters may surrender.”

Bottom line:

Gaza is part of [the Jewish people’s] Land and we will remain there forever… Subsequent to the elimination of terror from Gaza, it will become part of sovereign Israel and will be populated by Jews. [Arutz Sheva]

Though he urges annihilation, Feiglin stops just short of genocide, differentiating between Palestinians who cede their rights to self-determination and self-defense from those who respond to foreign occupation with violence. Other Israeli voices have not been so measured.

….

And they’re right, these Israelis. If Israel’s goal is to rid itself of Palestinian nationalism and resistance permanently, forever and aye, a plan like Feiglin’s is the only one that might work.

Clearly Palestinians still dream of statehood, and “managing” the conflict has failed.